A Hint of Purple
by buttertroll
Summary: So, Albel and Sophia DO have something in common.


**Disclaimer: **Don't own it.

**Notes: **Spoilers. Namely, the Big One. Like, right in the opening paragraphs. Mostly humor, but I think Albel gets a little preachy. Oh, Albel.

**OOOOO**

**A Hint of Purple**

**OOOOO**

Pushing his bangs back above his forehead with a gloved hand, Fayt sighed and let his head lull to the side and then around to his opposite shoulder, cracking his neck in a series of barely audible pops. He squinted and rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden change of light. Arkives was just so _bright._ The fourth-dimensional city was free of cloud cover (namely because it was _above _the clouds) and the sun was free to beam down upon the nearly transparent ground and reflect into an innocent bystander's eyes.

_It was really a lousy idea to return to this place_, Fayt thought, although it had been his decision to pay Flad a visit before beginning their assault on Luther's Firewall. The boy had been quite helpful upon their initial arrival to 4D space, and Fayt was willing to chance that he might still be, although his hunch was quite wrong. Flad, to his credit, had offered Fayt a hefty amount of EM bombs and healing devices (courtesy of Major Alex, the boy's avatar in the Eternal Sphere), but no tips in regards to survival against the Creator. Fayt was truly grateful, although he knew one could argue that the time spent traveling from Aquios to the Aire-Kirlsa Hills to Gemity and, finally, to Arkives could have been better spent training or otherwise inventing. That 'one' would probably end up being Albel. Fayt rolled his eyes at the thought of the fit the swordsman would throw upon hearing that the trip yielded no useful information, but instead trinkets of the technology of which Albel was _so _fond.

Fayt laughed under his breath. Technology and Albel didn't get off to a very good start, what with him getting shot through the chest and all. There was also an incident with a replicator on the Aquaelie, when Sophia had made the mistake of showing him the basics of operation and then left him alone with it.

Nothing soaks Albel the Wicked with carbonated beverages and gets away with it. _Nothing._

"And just what amuses you so, Leingod?"

Fayt took his time to turn around, putting his hand on the hilt of his sword and letting the other hang loosely at his side. He stared blankly at Albel. "You," he answered simply and in a similar tone. In the months he had gotten to know Albel, he found it easier (and, sometimes, quite fun) to deal with Albel's sour disposition by mimicking the swordsman's mannerisms. It irritated the older man to no end, and, at times, led to violence, although neither of them really minded that. It kept them on their toes, and occasionally Mirage and Adray would join their impromptu sparring matches, the former dancing around the two in a flurry of kicks and the latter using a strange combination of Symbology and swordplay to smack his opponents around. Adray would, more often than not, single out Albel, for the next best thing to fighting Glou Nox was fighting with the deceased's son.

"Hmph." His red eyes narrowed. "Do you really think it would be a good idea to provoke me here? After all that trouble you went through to keep my sword from quenching its thirst? As amusing as your pathetic attempts to imitate greatness are, it is becoming rather annoying."

Fayt snorted and relaxed his pose. "I'm surprised you even care that I would be at fault should your rage get the better of you."

"Mm," Albel answered, resting his elbow upon his gauntlet as he set his chin upon the folded fingers of his flesh hand, "I do believe the concern is merely for my own comfort. As tempting as it is to run these fools through, it does not hold a candle to how I would feel if I had to listen to you whine about it."

Fayt opened his mouth to retort, but Albel cut him off, holding the palm of his gauntlet upward. "Anyway, I'd like to know when the hell we're leaving this awful place—I fear I shall go blind in an hour's time."

"As soon as I find Sophia. I've already told everyone else to meet at the station," Fayt answered. "It shouldn't take more than ten minutes. Go wait there with the others, okay?"

It was Albel's turn to snort. "Although I don't particularly like to admit my shortcomings, asking me to find this _station _on my own is tantamount to expecting an Aquarian to share."

"Then I guess you'll be fine," Fayt replied, expecting Albel to bristle at the misinterpretation of his analogy.

Instead of the usual begrudging annoyance, Albel closed in on Fayt, trapping him against the stone wall that outlined the walkways, the breeze against his lower back promising a fall should he lean back any farther. Albel's left arm came to rest on Fayt's chest as he bunched up the other man's vest in his grip. "Listen, you _maggot_. Just because you were on _their _side in the war doesn't make them saints. I'll have you know that our King offered a hefty sum for the land between Kirlsa and Arias. It was probably more than he could have given, but Airyglyph was starving and because of that he _did not_ have time to haggle like some old crone. I will also inform you that those uptight _wenches_ refused to allow the "Children of Edyglyph the Traitor" a place on Apris' precious soil. People were dying and they had the audacity to bring up a centuries-old grudge? Do you think that's _kind_?"

Fayt stood there, stunned at the outburst of emotion he had just witnessed. With Albel, it was either amused or irritated. Never righteously indignant. The blue-haired boy lowered his eyes, too guilty to meet Albel's angry countenance. He had never known, and certainly never dwelled upon the true meaning of the war, for both sides had their own stories, and it was hard to empathize, as he was from a society where war was only something one read about in history books. Nel had simply told him 'Aquaria-good, Airyglyph-bad' and that was the end of it.

"Albel…" Fayt began, raising his hands to the other man's gauntlet and carefully prying the razor-sharp appendages off of his vest. "Listen, I'm sorry. I can't even begin to fathom a way to separate the good from the bad, the just from the unjust."

"_You_ listen," Albel interrupted, "I need not your pity, or your apologies. Just the knowledge that your complete ignorance has been somewhat remedied pleases me. Now," he continued, pulling away from Fayt, "Let's go find that Runology girl and _leave_."

**OOOOO**

Sophia glanced over her shoulder as inconspicuously as possible. Seeing exactly what she _didn't _want to see, she retracted her head and grimaced. That creepy guy was still there, right behind the Eternal Sphere display, watching her every move. She wasn't particularly frightened of him, for if the situation got serious she could probably burn him something awful and go on her merry way. However, it was not in her nature to strike unprovoked. And it especially wasn't in her nature to torch a boy for looking at her funny, even if he was creepy and weird and _following _her.

She sighed, walking along the clear road that circled the enormous display screen, hoping he would just give up and leave. Or maybe actually come and talk to her instead of just standing there all creepy like. Deciding to bait him, she detached her Adept's Staff from its magnetic resting place on her back and brought it out in front of her, turning her back to the stalker. She loosened the string that attached her kitty charm to the base of the rod and continued walking, absentmindedly twirling the staff like a baton. Sure enough, the kitty went flying to the left, sliding along the ground to rest in the middle of the path. Sophia carried on obliviously, lingering in the area so she wouldn't lose sight of the feline bauble. The cat (along with some colorful fish) used to dangle from the mobile that spun over her crib when she was a baby, and Sophia would be crushed if she were to actually lose it.

The boy carefully made his way from behind the screen to the path where he, like Sophia, acted oblivious to the discarded charm. He then looked around inquisitively before quickly scooping up the cat, holding it up to his face with his right thumb and index finger. Fixing his eyes on Sophia, he made his move.

"I think you dropped this," he said, approaching her slowly, his eyes fixed to the ground. He looked about her age, maybe a little younger.

"Oh!" Sophia exclaimed, a little happier than necessary. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost this! However can I thank you?" She reclaimed her charm and reattached it to the end of her staff.

"How about you stand right there a little longer? Maybe move a little to the left?" he asked innocently enough.

It was a harmless request, although Sophia was a little apprehensive about complying. However, she did as she was asked. "Like this?"

"Yeah…"

They stood there in an awkward silence, Sophia looking around absentmindedly and the boy apparently too shy to meet her eyes, his gaze fixated on the ground.

"Doesn't that hurt your eyes?" she inquired. "I mean, the sun's reflection is awful harsh."

"Um, no," he answered, laughing a little.

"What's so funny?"

"Um, nothing."

He averted his gaze momentarily to look at a blonde woman as she walked past them in the direction of the station, her rather revealing attire fit for an evening of fun at Gemity. However, he was not staring at her, but just a little behind her.

Sophia, finding that a little strange, followed suit. _Oh, how embarrassing_, she thought, _when the angle of light is just right you can see her underwear!_

Sophia froze and her eyes widened in sudden realization.

"Y-you… you… pervert!" she exclaimed, smacking him upside the head with her staff, the cat on the end shaking furiously as she twirled around and ran over to the area surrounding the Eternal Sphere display where the ground was, thankfully, opaque.

From where she was standing, she saw the boy rub his head and shrug. He looked quite pleased with himself, regardless of whatever lump was forming on his abused cranium.

"Augh," Sophia grunted in disgust. "I can't believe I fell for something so juvenile!" She pulled at the ends of her skirt, trying in futility to make it longer. She shimmied around sucked in her stomach, hoping it would somehow help.

She was like this—dancing around awkwardly and cursing her skirt—when Fayt and Albel found her.

"What's gotten into you, woman?" Albel questioned, giving her a queer look as she nearly jumped out of her skin at the harsh and inquiring voice. "Are you _trying_ to get those Security worms to spot you?"

"Um, well, there was this _boy_…" Sophia grit out between clenched teeth. It was really frustrating when your skirt wouldn't grow an extra meter on command.

"What happened?" Fayt asked. "Did he hurt you? Which way did he go?"

"No, no. Nothing like that," the girl answered, "It's just that, well, the ground here… When the angle of light is just right, it's almost like a mirror! It's so embarrassing! Please tell me we're leaving, Fayt! I never want to come back here!"

"I agree with the girl on this one. Let's level this place and never come back," Albel said, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at Fayt. "Fighting to reclaim a woman's honor is a good of an excuse as any, I suppose."

"Put that away, Albel," Fayt ordered, his finger positioned precariously upon the point of the Crimson Scourge. "If you really want to fight that much, I'll accompany you to the battle arena once we get to Gemity. You wanna come, too, Sophia?" he asked, turning to her. "We could try the ranking battles again. I'm sure that those Demon Lords won't know what hit 'em if all three of us go."

"If you don't think I'd get in the way…"

"Of course I don't."

Sophia's mood seemed to brighten, as compliments from Fayt always meant a lot to her. She giggled a little and brushed past Albel, turning around to face the two of them. "Well, what are you guys waiting for? Onward! Defrosted Tuna Team!" She pumped one arm into the air and swirled around, starting in the direction of the Space-Time Station.

"I'm still not entirely sure why I haven't killed you for picking that name," Albel hissed to Fayt, who just offered the swordsman that infuriating smile of his. Rolling his eyes, Albel turned to follow Sophia.

Fayt trailed behind the two of them, a curious observer in the phenomenon that Sophia had described to him. It was true, indeed, that the right light at the right angle would yield quite an enlightening picture, to say the least.

It was no surprise to find that Sophia wore purple panties. After all, Fayt had grown up with the girl, and remembered when her undergarment of choice had been diapers, then pull-ups, then a cartoon-print phase that wore off when she turned 11. He also knew that she liked to color coordinate, and he figured she probably went out of her way to find the perfect shade of purple to match her cuffs and skirt.

It was, however, a surprise to find Albel in what must have been the long lost twin to Sophia's panties. After all, Fayt had not grown up with Albel and therefore could not recall the swordsman's first undergarment nor did he know exactly how that scandalous article of clothing had ended up so _close _to such a vicious man, but he had his theories.

Tons of them, in fact, all born in that second it took to realize that those panties were most certainly not a mirage, nor were they on such a lovely woman.

Fayt suddenly feared for his upcoming battle, for the hints of purple left him curious and a little scared, for Sophia was formidable when angry and Albel would just plain slit his throat and then killing him for being a louse would be just another thing they had in common.

**OOOOO**

**Comments: **Um, hooray for abrupt endings? I'm not particularly happy how this turned out, but it just kinda wrote itself and then it made me post it at gunpoint. It was funny in my head, but then all I got was word vomit. Oh well. It started out as purely humor, and then Albel gets all serious, and then it goes back to humor. Quit ruining my stories with your drama, you sexy prick.

Sophia's line about the mirror ("When the angle… embarrassing!") was ripped right from the game, along with Flad's Eternal Sphere character. Random pervert 4D boy is a random 4D boy.

Also, Albel totally wears **purple panties**. You can see them when he's smithing. Not that I actively look for panty shots or anything… Of course I don't. 0o

Comments/reviews are appreciated. :D


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